Watch: Virat Kohli Gets Mobbed By Crowd Upon Arrival In Vadodara Ahead Of India vs New Zealand 1st ODI
India's three-match ODI series against New Zealand starts on January 11 in Vadodara.
Fans gathered in huge numbers to welcome India's star batter Virat Kohli as he reached the Vadodara airport ahead of the first ODI against New Zealand. The host team is set to play a three-match series against the Blackcaps in the format. The first match will be played on January 11 at the BCA Stadium, Vadodara. Kohli, who is active as an international player only in ODIs, arrived in the city of Gujarat on Wednesday. In a poor turn of events, he got mobbed by the crowd which was there to welcome him. The security personnel struggled, taking Kohli to his car outside the airport.
#WATCH | Gujarat: Former Indian Captain and Star Cricketer Virat Kohli arrives at Vadodara for Team India's ODI match against New Zealand on 11th January. pic.twitter.com/cQbhCghMZy
— ANI (@ANI) January 7, 2026
Kohli, the senior pro, recently returned to the Vijay Hazare Trophy, competing in the List A format for the first time in 15 years. The former India captain has been in impressive form, following a strong 131 with a smooth 77 in his two matches. Kohli also surpassed 16,000 runs in List A cricket, becoming the fastest to reach this milestone, breaking Sachin Tendulkar's record.
Kohli has been in outstanding form ever since he returned to international cricket during the Australia tour in October last year. Although his start was slow with two ducks, he has since been performing exceptionally well. In the recent ODI series against South Africa, Kohli scored consecutive centuries and was India's leading scorer.
The right-handed batter is only 25 runs short of becoming the fastest cricketer to score 28,000 runs in international cricket. He could join Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara as the third player to reach the milestone.
The 37-year-old has scored a total of 27,975 runs over 623 innings, with 84 centuries and 145 half-centuries. Tendulkar reached this milestone in his 644th innings, and Sangakkara did so in his 666th innings.
Kohli also has a strong record against New Zealand, having accumulated 1,657 runs in 33 ODIs, with nine half-centuries and six centuries.
(With IANS Inputs)
Virat Kohli